#9 beats #83 whodathunkit

[Don]

I've spent the last two weekends spring cleaning the 'zuki, last weekend, it was car up on ramps, a sprayer full of APC, a scrub brush and the garden hose. That was followed by the once-a-year dish detergent wash - every fall, I spray down all of the vulnerable areas with WD-40 & again about midwinter. Needless to say, come spring the car is pretty nasty so the dish soap is kind of a necessary evil.

Today I finally was able to break out the PC & some goodies to bring the finish back. I figured some #83 on a polishing pad should do the trick, so after claying, I fired up the PC to 4 and got started. After working it into the top surfaces (hood/roof/trunk lid), I went back with a microfiber to buff off the residue. Only thing is...it wouldn't buff off. So I tried a terry towel - no go.

I flipped a coin between #9 and DC #2 Polish and the #9 won. Taking a fresh polishing pad, I buffed the car within an inch of it's life. I buffed the vertical surfaces once and the horizontals twice, buffing the residue off with a microfiber after each pass. It looked really good, but really good isn't good enough, so out came the DC #2. A really intense polishing with the DC #2, followed by 2 light coats of Collinite 476s and WOW - can you say RED

pics to follow

[yalerd]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

After working it into the top surfaces (hood/roof/trunk lid), I went back with a microfiber to buff off the residue. Only thing is...it wouldn't buff off. So I tried a terry towel - no go.

Are you saying that you worked #83 in the hood/roof/truck and you only worked the product without removing it?

If this is what you did then I have to say that #83 or any product from Meguiar's except the waxes are meant to dry. If you let it dry then it will be very difficult to remove. Another thing with #83 is that you have to clean the polishing pad often because if you don't then it will start to gum up and this will result that when you want to remove it then it's going to be hard. Again if you overworked the product too much, if you buff till it was dry then you are going to get the same results.

[Lydia]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

I actually tend to buff a large amount of the car, then go around and wipe all the product off (after reading one of the full-time detailers here does it that way). It goes quicker and I haven't had any problem with it before. If for some reason some of it is not wanting to come off, I just spray a little bit of LT on it and that fixes it. So while it might not be recommended by Meg's, it actually works fine usually.

Looking forward to seeing pictures!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

Lydia, I think you might be lucky dealing with that process in Florida where the humidity tends to be pretty high. Here in SoCal I wouldn't try it, what with us often seeing humidity as low as single digits and very commonly in the 15~25% range.

[Silverado12]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

I agree with Mike-In-Orange, here in CA, I would never risk letting #83 sit on the paint for any longer than a minute for fear that it would harden on the surface. Typically, right after I'm done buffing a section with #83/#80/#9, I take a nearby microfiber and wipe the paint clean.

[jooccord]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

I agree with Mike-In-Orange, here in CA, I would never risk letting #83 sit on the paint for any longer than a minute for fear that it would harden on the surface. Typically, right after I'm done buffing a section with #83/#80/#9, I take a nearby microfiber and wipe the paint clean.

Does that mean that 83/80/9 leaves a thin layer hardened product after wiping off the excess ?
This this offer any kind of protection ? (like say if the LSP and sealant and worn out)

thanks in advance~

[Silverado12]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

Does that mean that 83/80/9 leaves a thin layer hardened product after wiping off the excess ?
This this offer any kind of protection ? (like say if the LSP and sealant and worn out)

thanks in advance~

#83/80/9 will wipe completely clean from the paint and leaves zero protection on the surface. It is designed to be followed by a wax or sealant. When I said I'd be afraid of the product hardening, I simply meant that I'd be afraid of the product sticking to the paint and not wanting to wipe clean/leave residue. When used properly, #83/80/9 will not leave any residue on the surface and simply prepares the paint for a true protecting LSP. Sorry for any confusion.

[OmeGa101]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

do u have to follow up with 80 after using 83? =S

[Don]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

Are you saying that you worked #83 in the hood/roof/truck and you only worked the product without removing it?

If this is what you did then I have to say that #83 or any product from Meguiar's except the waxes are meant to dry. If you let it dry then it will be very difficult to remove. Another thing with #83 is that you have to clean the polishing pad often because if you don't then it will start to gum up and this will result that when you want to remove it then it's going to be hard. Again if you overworked the product too much, if you buff till it was dry then you are going to get the same results.

I worked the products the same way I've always done . Even with my paint being single-stage, just doing those three surfaces isn't nearly enough to cause the pad to load up with product & dead paint. The #83 was still oily when I stopped working it in and when I started trying to wipe it off. It didn't flash on me because of low humidity-it was raining off and on but water wasn't an issue either as I was in the garage. Really, the only time that I have an issue with the products gumming up on me is when I try to use the rotary on too big of an area or with too much product.

I was surprised, the #83 just wasn't wasn't wanting to play nice . Fortunately, Megs has a large enough line of products that if one of them isn't working for you, there are plenty of options.

[Lydia]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

Lydia, I think you might be lucky dealing with that process in Florida where the humidity tends to be pretty high. Here in SoCal I wouldn't try it, what with us often seeing humidity as low as single digits and very commonly in the 15~25% range.

That's an excellent point. I completely forgot about that, but I'm sure that's what makes the difference. In fact, the other detailer I mentioned also lives in FL so that's a good part of the reason it works for us. Glad you pointed that out.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

Humidity is sort of double edged sword in the detailing world. Your humidity allows you to maybe work a polish a bit longer than we can, but our lack of it means our waxes haze over really fast!!

Not that I advocate polishing in Florida and then trucking cross country to apply the wax in California mind you.

[Lydia]

Re: #9 beats #83 whodathunkit

That's another good point, and one I was thinking of earlier when I read your reply. I think that's part of the reason I have problems with NXT (even 2.0) streaking a little; I take it off a little too soon for how high the humidity is. Last time I did a car on a deadline, I left NXT 2.0 on for at least 30 minutes, probably closer to 45 minutes, and it still streaked when I was taking it off (and this was in warm weather!).

The humidity here was 40% this afternoon and now it's 81%. Fun.

LOL. That's a good idea! Not!